DAMASCUS, Syria — After three and half years of war in Syria, Damascenes have become indifferent to the statements issued by local and international politicians and decision-makers. But this was not the case in regard to US President Barack Obama’s speech last week. Young and old, women and men, all were awaiting Obama’s speech.

Wherever one moved in the streets of the Syrian capital before the broadcast of the speech, you would hear words and conversations about the upcoming speech. “Will the US hit Syria?” “Maybe he is just concerned.” “The US war is different from the war we are living.” These are samples of what could be heard while roaming the streets of Damascus.

In his speech, Obama emphasized that his strategy relies on the leadership of a coalition of regional nations to attack the terrorist Islamic State (IS), weaken it and ultimately eliminate it, pointing out that the United States will hunt down the terrorists who threaten it wherever they are, in Syria and Iraq. Obama's speech was broadcast at 4 a.m. Damascus time, which made it difficult for many Syrians to watch it live, but it was the first item in the morning for most Damascenes.

Mohammad, a university student, was keen to watch the speech live. “The speech did not add anything new. I do not think that this was the expected speech. Obama only made promises. The Islamic State is advancing and taking over more areas and Obama is still issuing media statements similar to those about the countable days of [Bashar] al-Assad. We want this war to end without further bloodshed. America is not the angelic savior. We must all agree to end the slaughter in our country,” he told Al-Monitor.